Return of the Crown Read Free Page A

secrets of the
castle. Blade leapt up and started bolting down the stairs. A
gentle hand grasped his shoulder, and he slowed his pace.
    Continuing out through the bustling Great
Hall, he pushed open the huge wooden doors. The creaking hinges
seemed to scream, “Someone’s sneak-ing, someone’s sneak-ing.” As he
looked over his shoulder, he saw the castle staff running in all
directions, oblivious to one little boy. He held the door wide for
a moment, hoping Connor was through. He strode across the courtyard
to the gravel path leading down to the stables. He could hear
Connor’s feet crunch the gravel slightly behind his, and adjusted
his cadence to match.
    He let out a long-held breath as the stables
came into view. He found Gerord, the stable boy, mucking out the
stalls. The aroma of fresh hay wafted up as Gerord tossed a large
forkful of clean hay into the stall. “Hi Gerord, how’re you today?”
he asked the gangly youth.
    Gerord leaned on his pitchfork, brushing the
sweat from his brow, “I’m nearly done with me chores; all that’s
left is to take Midnight and Moonlight up to pasture. With the King
and Queen gone, they won’t get out of the stables much. They like
running free on the range.”
    Blade couldn’t believe his luck. “I came down
here ‘cause I’m bored. I’ll go for a ride and take them up for
you.”
    Gerord scratched the scraggly scrub on his
chin. “Well, I don’t want the stable-master thinking I’m ditching
me duties, but if you really want to, I’d be heaps grateful. Maybe
I can get home before me supper gets cold for once.”
    Blade tended to Midnight and Moonlight,
putting on their bridles and saddles. He tossed a brush, some extra
nails, a pick, and other animal husbandry gear into a saddlebag.
Midnight stamped his feet, eager to be away. Blade untied the
horses, leading both away from the stalls. “Master Connor,” he
whispered, “you here?”
    “ Already seated upon Moonlight my friend,
but you had best think what you want to say to me, as I am now
thinking my thoughts to you. You don’t want people to think you
have gone daft, talking to the air. I’ve given you the ability to
hear my thoughts, temporarily, and I can hear yours. ”
    Blade chuckled. Master Connor is a
practitioner of the Light, not a crazy old loon like everyone
thinks.
    “ Yes, that’s true, and I will tell you
more once we have made our grand escape.”
    Blade mounted Midnight, starting toward the
gate, which Gerord had opened for him.
    Gerord stood by the gate, hands on his hips,
“Why’d ya go and saddle them horses, Blade? The horses won’t need
them at pasture.”
    Before Blade could think up a suitable
response, the stable-master hollered for Gerord. Blade gave
Midnight a nudge; the horse fairly leapt past the gate, Moonlight
following suit.
    Blade leaned close to Midnight’s ears,
talking calmly to the skitterish stallion, easing the horse through
the city streets. The townsfolk were milling about. The crowds from
earlier hadn’t dispersed, in fact it seemed more people packed the
streets. Fearful whispering rasped through the air, and everyone
looked up at the ominous sky.
    “I’ve not seen the like before, all dark in
the middle of the day. Something evil has found its way to our
kingdom,” the baker exclaimed.
    “Aye, tis dark times that befall us,” moaned
the seamstress, who hovered in her doorway, wringing a length of
fabric in her nervous hands.
    “I’ve seen summat like this before, years
ago. You can bet life in this kingdom will not be peaceable like
before. Evil is what you saw, the Dark Arts,” growled an old
grizzled sailor. “It’s time I started my travels again, for I will
not be able to stomach the changes that will occur here.”
    Slowly, they picked their way through the
crowds of frightened people. Children clung to their mothers’
skirts, hiding in the folds of fabric. Men stood in front of their
families, as if to ward off the evil they could not see.